Are you a ‘Grow Getter’ or does your Business Fail to ‘Get Growth’?

Are you a ‘Grow Getter’ or does your Business Fail to ‘Get Growth’?

Amidst a sluggish economic landscape, the recent Budget announcement offered a variety of measures to help sustain businesses, while also keeping an eye on what they need to do to stay competitive in the future. The SMEs Go Digital Programme as well as the SME Technology Hub set and the SME Headstart programme have all been created to help small businesses in Singapore build their digital capabilities in order to grow.

Recognising the power of technology in empowering businesses to boost productivity and efficiency, the new programmes provide strong foundations for SMEs to adopt and implement technology to stay competitive, compete on quality and embrace innovation. This is critically important, considering Singapore is situated at the heart of the ASEAN region that is an important driver of global economic growth. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), China and India are bright spots for growth – the ASEAN-5 countries expected to grow at 4.9% in 2017, with China and India forecasted at 6.7% and 6.6% respectively. This, coupled with rapid urbanisation and the rise of the Asian middle class, whose increased spend in sectors like retail, lifestyle and healthcare, provides greater opportunities for businesses to grow.

The digital economy also presents unprecedented global growth opportunities. Even the smallest company can now seek customers in the furthest markets as long as there is digital access. Companies, regardless of size, can engage with customers through digital channels, transact with business partners and seek out payment solutions anywhere. Technology is transforming industries and offering new ways to overcome constraints and seek out new opportunities. The SMEs Go Digital Programme, which will help SMEs digitise their products, services and processes, only emphasises the importance of enabling companies to harness digital technologies and platforms to help them grow.

However, no business can grow unless the people behind the organisation are focused on achieving growth. While the various opportunities listed above should project a positive growth for Singaporean businesses, this is not always the case. The ambiguity of today’s economic climate as well as disruptive technology creating more volatile economies, makes it difficult to outline a detailed roadmap for success, and this is further compounded by increased regional competition and Singapore’s struggle to boost productivity. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to growing your business, which is why our newest research focuses on the variables which influence business growth.

Profit is often seen as the benchmark metric for measuring business growth and is ultimately the Holy Grail of business goals. There are many more ways of tracking growth, such as through measuring footprint, workforce and product offerings, and all have a real impact on a business’s overall development. These significant factors often need to grow before profits can be achieved and so businesses need to build strategies to pave the way for growth. All businesses have their own growth journey and before now there has been little research tracking business growth and its related metrics on a global scale. Our latest study attempts to change this, bringing the state of global business growth to life, and showing exactly how the business landscape is evolving.

The research draws out some global trends despite the unique nature of each business’s journey. It shows that that one-in-three (36%) businesses across the globe have failed to grow their profits in the last 12 months. In Singapore, this figure is almost doubled, with only a third (34%) of businesses reporting profit growth over the past year. This leads us to question where these businesses are on their growth journeys. Do they ‘get’ growth? What goals they are chasing? Are profits on the horizon, or out of reach? Not achieving profit may be down to strategic decisions. Companies may be investing elsewhere, for example, or growing in other ways, before they have resources to focus on profit growth. The companies that are coming out on top in the profit stakes are those with a ‘grow getter’ approach, taking opportunities when they’re presented to them such as those in the emerging economies of India and Mexico. Comparatively, businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong are less optimistic about their future growth–forecasted as the least likely to grow their product ranges, expand their workforce or expand geographically. ‘Grow getter’ companies typically proactively invest in technology to boost productivity which gives them the scope to expand into new markets and adopt an agile approach to changing macroeconomic events.Companies with this proactive ‘grow getter’ approach typically see speedier profits and returns on investment. An impressive 80% of businesses in India grew their profits in the last 12 months whilst businesses in other regions were left planning and preparing, perhaps growing in other areas, but falling further behind in terms of profit growth. The fascinating and valuable findings of our latest study have shown us just how essential this information is for the future of the modern business world. As such, we will continue to report on changes in the global business environment.